Old Swimming Pool of Spiere-Helkijn

The Old Swimming Pool of Spiere-Helkijn was an open-air swimming pool located at the mouth of the Spierebeek in the Scheldt. The swimming pool was built in the former water purification testing station that was built by the Belgian government in 1935-1936. The swimming pool was closed in 1955 and later became a protected monument. In 2019, the intermunicipal company Leiedal bought the old swimming pool of Spiere-Helkijn. Leiedal wants to preserve the site as heritage and improve accessibility by realizing a meaningful use with respect for the heritage and the green environment on the banks of the Scheldt. Through the PDPO project “Environmental construction of the Old Swimming Pool Spiere as a tourist-recreational hotspot on the Scheldt”, with support from the European Rural Program, Leiedal wishes to design the swimming pool and surroundings as a public space that is attractive, accessible, usable and safe for all visitors. In 2024, the greening will put the icing on the cake to deliver the new site that same year. The Old Swimming Pool will be restored as a heritage location into a tourist-recreational hotspot on the Scheldt where you can take a unique dip in nature.

The Spiere swimming pool was one of the first open-air swimming pools in Belgium with an eventful history. In 1935, the Belgian state built a water treatment plant between Spierebeek and the Scheldt. On May 18, 1937, King Leopold III visited this installation. Unfortunately the plan didn't work, it was too expensive and too polluting. The building gradually fell into disrepair, at one point it was converted into a swimming pool.

There was a last swimming session in 1955. In the meantime, the former open-air swimming pool was given the status of a protected monument.

Since 2021 you can visit a permanent outdoor exhibition. No fewer than eight artists immersed themselves in the story of this unique heritage gem and presented their artistic interpretations of the Old Swimming Pool. Their designs are presented on panels on the wall between the changing cubicles along the old swimming dock. Nostalgic archive photos were previously given a well-deserved place there.

Via a QR code you can also view a short documentation and experience how lively life in and around the pool used to be.

I only had an eye for the lock.